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18 April 2012

Mount Cook is a fairly straight shot from Queenstown, so we decided we would save the gas and hitch-hike. Thankfully getting a ride was easy, and we were cruising north in style after only after a few minutes waiting.

The journey was pretty spectacular through the Lindis Pass, but as soon as we got near Mount Cook the weather turned to crap. Our ride dropped us at the turn-off to the national park, where we managed to get another ride to the camp ground. When we got there we could not see a thing! There was thick cloud all around and the wind was blowing something crazy. So we set up camp and read for the afternoon. That night the wind was so loud that we couldn't sleep. I was sure the tent was going to rip or blow away; it was insane! So I did not have high hopes for being able to see the mountain for the two days we planned to stay.

7 April 2012

After Milford we drove back to Queenstown, again to stay with Jamie and Maree. It was so handy having relatives living in Queenstown! It meant we could base ourselves there, then go off and do little side trips, but always have a comfy bed to come back to.

One short trip we did was to drive in to Skipper Canyon. The ride in is kinda scary; a narrow, winding dirt road. On one side a massive cliff face and on the other a huge drop off into the bottom of the valley. But the view is pretty stunning, and being the extremely skilled driver I am; it was not a problem. We drove past the Skippers Jebtboat again and watched it roar up and down the river. If it wasn't so expensive I would have been keen to give it a go.

4 April 2012

Contrary to popular belief, the southern most point of New Zealand's South Island is not Bluff, but a place called 'Slope Point', which is a deserted stretch of beach. Other than being the southern most point, it really has nothing going for it. So instead we decided to check out the imposter that is Bluff.

Unfortunately Bluff doesn't have much more going for it. It was so windy that Julia and I were almost blown off the top of the hill, but at least it was clear enough to get a decent view of Stewart Island. At the bottom of the hill we had the standard photo underneath the road sign, a bit of a wander around, then decided to move on.